Betting Spy: Defence is a dying art in the Premier League

Grant Prior 7 years ago
Share

All that hype and hope for the new season lasted just 33 minutes for West Ham fans.

Sometimes the defending is so shocking you just have to smile.....
Sometimes the defending is so shocking you just have to smile.....

The Hammers rolled out the claret and blue carpet for our old nemesis Romelu Lukaku to notch his first league goal for Man Utd.

Then it was the traditional capitulation to mark a truly miserable start to the campaign.

I’d even decided not to put Lukaku in my dream team to make it a double blow.

Mourinho seems to be working his magic at Man Utd and they will be there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

As for West Ham? Well there will be easier afternoons and our target is to make the top ten.

There’s not a lot to choose between the sides once you look past the top six and Everton.

So a lot of teams will be alternating between glancing nervously down or excitedly up the table on a fairly regular basis.

One side who do look out of sorts are Crystal Palace. You don’t get much time in the Premier League to adopt a whole new football philosophy.

They face Liverpool at Anfield this weekend so things aren’t going to get easier anytime soon.

Sky Sports bosses must have been punching the air during the opening weekend as goals rained in from everywhere.

The Premier League is many things but Serie A it ‘aint.

Defending has been a dying art in this country for a while but it looks like the last rites are finally here.

Luckily Alan Hansen is no longer in the Match of the Day studio or he might have exploded.

It’s almost becoming like basketball with teams looking like they’ll score every time they go up the pitch.

Sure it’s exciting but I’d still like to see the odd tackle or proper marking from set pieces to make forwards work for their goals.

The 93rd minute Watford equaliser against Liverpool which sunk our treble last week was a case in point. But I can’t even talk about that one without going into a Hansen-esque rage.

So where to make money this weekend?

Burnley are tough to beat at home and look overpriced at 7/5 to get the better of West Brom.

I also like the look of Leicester to beat Brighton and Bournemouth to beat Watford so let’s go for the home win treble which pays a tasty looking 7/1.

Betting Spy has joined forces with Paddy Power to offer all readers a £20 risk-free bet when they open an account. Just click on the link below to visit construction’s favourite bookmaker for full terms and conditions and discover how to set-up an online, telephone or mobile account

Running total of all bets to a £10 stake for 2017/18 season: £-10.00

Latest news

Council pulls £274m road scheme over bats row

Ferrovial stood down after £56m spent on Norwich Western Link
3 hours ago

£500m house building framework opens for bids

17 firms face fight to retain places on north west housing consortium list
4 hours ago

Government faces £49bn estate maintenance backlog

Spending watchdog calls for urgent action to save crumbling public estate
4 hours ago

Sellafield awards £95m industrial services framework

Kaeffer seals new access, asbestos and insulation deal
4 hours ago

HG Construction names new MD

Greg Purkiss appointment completes corporate restructure
5 hours ago

Plasterer in court for Covid loan fraud

Fraudster spent £50,000 Bounce Back loan on gambling, groceries and fantasy football
4 hours ago

Industry’s best construction managers revealed

Full shortlist for CIOB Construction Manager of the Year award
22 hours ago

Steeplejack dies after 60 metre church fall

Specialist contractor, which has ceased trading since accident, fined £60,000
3 hours ago

Government to signal backing for London airports expansion

Chancellor growth plan speech to give nod to Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton plans
20 hours ago

Hospital building plan extended by a decade – full list

All planned projects retained with fresh start dates for industry certainty
1 day ago

Kier launches £20m share buyback as debt cut

Steady first-half trading shrinks average month end debt to £38m from £137m
1 day ago

Plans unveiled for £365m Heathrow data centre

Distribution centre developer moves into data centre market
1 day ago

Plan for 6.5m sq ft Greater Manchester industrial zone

Russell LDP and Harworth to submit ambitious Northern Gateway plan this Spring
1 day ago

Building boss sold diggers still on HP

Court hears how building director sold rented machines to fund sports car and gambling habit
2 days ago

Wates names new hard FM chief

Jack Prady joins from Thermic Technical FM
2 days ago

Council steps-in at sites where developer failed

First Endeavour LLP went under while building new homes across Fife
2 days ago

Mace confirmed for £93m weather centre HQ

Work to start on weather scientist hub at University of Reading
2 days ago

Council starts £200m hunt to replace Balfour Beatty

Tender race begins after Herefordshire Council parts ways with contractor
2 days ago

St William gets go-ahead for 245-home Stratford scheme

Planning approved for Stratford Gasworks regeneration
2 days ago

Balfour Beatty to sell Omnicom to Hitachi Rail

Digital rail monitoring business employs over 100 engineers
2 days ago

Van Elle partners with Wood on power transmission jobs

Ground investigation and piling deal worth over £30m
2 days ago

Former Balfour regional MD dies before taking up new role

Lindsay McGibbon struck down by cancer
5 days ago

One of Wales’ oldest contractors delivers record profit

Andrew Scott chairman says clients are now looking beyond lowest bids for jobs
5 days ago

Henry administrators chase £10m director payment

Cash frozen as legal action continues
6 days ago

Warning after scammers pose as plant hire bosses

Flannery targeted by fraudsters trying to con customers
5 days ago

Carey co-founder Tom Carey passes away

Contractor confirms death of second of three founding brothers
6 days ago

Robertson and Balfour win £333m schools deal

Contractors land work for five schools in Scotland
5 days ago

Go-ahead for £125m Ealing leisure centre and homes scheme

Council seeks contractor to deliver flagship Gurnell development
5 days ago

State of Englands local roads a ‘national embarrassment’

Spending watchdog urges Govt to tackle £15bn repair backlog
5 days ago

Worker loses three fingers at timber frame factory

Construction supplier fined after panel saw accident
5 days ago

Contractor services